Penelope - Pl. II from the "L'Odyssee" portfolio

Andre Masson

Penelope is plate II of twelve plates from the portfolio L’Odysssée. published in 1978. Each plate is based upon Homer’s book, The Odyssey.

Penelope, the Queen of Ithaca and the wife of Odysseus, was the daughter of Icarius of Sparta and the nymph Periboea. During the twenty-year absence of Odysseus, beautiful Penelope remained faithful but found herself having to deflect the advances of numerous suitors. Certain that the King of Ithaca had died in the Trojan War, many men sought the status, wealth, and power of being married to Penelope and reigning over Ithaca. She never promised her hand and used her cunning to delay facing such a future. Penelope was known for her skill at weaving and she wove stories of equal complexity. The burial shroud for her father-in-law was on her loom and upon its completion she would make her choice known. In her deceptiveness, Penelope wove during the day and pulled out her work at night to begin again the next day. Masson represents a seated Penelope before her loom. Her right hand is raised to the tall male suitor. The garment at the feet of Penelope could be the ever-unfinished shroud.